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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23871661">Theirs</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeyondTheClouds777/pseuds/BeyondTheClouds777'>BeyondTheClouds777</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Learning Curves [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Developing QPR, Gen, Platonic Cuddling, Queerplatonic Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Queerplatonic Relationships, Relationship Discussions, Sick Hinata Shouyou, Sickfic, Soft Kiddos, Worried Kageyama Tobio, i love these kiddos so much, im still so very happy that tag exists, they just!!! love each other sm, they're trying their best</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:20:13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,687</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23871661</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeyondTheClouds777/pseuds/BeyondTheClouds777</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hinata and Kageyama don't have a word for what they have, but they know that it's precious, that it's irreplaceable, and that they wouldn't give it up for the world.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hinata Shouyou &amp; Kageyama Tobio</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Learning Curves [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1724587</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>256</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Theirs</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Ah, Kageyama!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It isn’t a voice he recognizes, but his name makes him turn. A classmate he knows by face alone strides toward him, smiling cautiously with a blue folder in his grasp.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you and Hinata are close, aren’t you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama recoils internally, and only internally; externally, he turns to face him and frowns. “We’re in the same club, yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Would you mind bringing him his homework?” he asks, spitting it out like each passing word is more damning than the last. “The teacher asked me to do it, but I don’t know Hinata very well at all. I don’t even know where he lives.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He holds the folder out tentatively as he speaks. Kageyama takes it. “Why can’t he get it himself?” Hinata’s absence is something that has been, admittedly, bothering him all day; he’d planned to text Hinata during lunch, but wound up helping a teacher clear the blackboard and forgot entirely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, didn’t you hear? He called in sick today.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sick?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The student nods. “Yeah. The teacher said it wasn’t a </span>
  <em>
    <span>super </span>
  </em>
  <span>big deal, but he had a fever, so he’ll be home until that breaks.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mm. Got it.” Kageyama looks down at the folder, then back up at him. “Thank you, I’ll make sure it gets to him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, thanks! I owe you one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll remember that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The student heads off before Kageyama can think to ask for his name, and he slips the folder into his school bag, attends his final class for the day, picks up Hinata’s homework for that, too, tells Daichi he (and Hinata) won’t be making practice, and heads off-campus. He should really invest in a bicycle one of these days, it’d make impromptu (or, really, any) visits to the Hinata residence a helluva lot easier.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once he’s started on his way, Kageyama texts him.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:44pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>I thought idiots couldn’t get sick</b>
</p><p>
  <span>It’s partially to test the waters and partially to start a conversation; to his surprise (but also not, because it’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hinata),</span>
  </em>
  <span> he gets a response almost at once.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:44pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>clearly then I’m not an idiot</b>
</p><p>
  <span>Or maybe he just really wanted to say that.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:44pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>No you’re still an idiot</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:44pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>by your logic that doesn’t make sense </b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:45pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>I’m bringing your homework over</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:45pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>no why</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>take it back</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:46pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>No</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:46pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>;-;</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:47pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>Stop that</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:47pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>;-; ;-; ;-;</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:48pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>If I have to do it you have to do it</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:48pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>;-; herk</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>JERK</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>DANGIT</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:49pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>herk</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:49pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>hEY</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:49pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>:)</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:50pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>STOP IT</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:50pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>This is the thanks I get for hiking up a mountain for you</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:50pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>I LITERALLY ASKED YOU NOT TO</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:50pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>I’ll be there in thirty minutes</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:50</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>noooooooooooooooo</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:51</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>Yeeeeeeeeessssss</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:51pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>; - ; </b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:51pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>; - ;</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:52pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>EVEN YOUR EMOTICONS LOOK SARCASTIC</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 2:52pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>They are</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>I’ll text you when I get there</b>
</p><p>
  <b>[✧ﾟ:*Dumbass*:ﾟ✧] 2:52pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>dont hurry</b>
</p><p>
  <span>He still does, partially because it’s a long hike he isn’t looking forward to and partially because he is worried. He hasn’t known Hinata to get sick often (if at all) outside of flu season. It bugs him, and it’s strange, because Hinata can annoy him to hell and back yet the thought of something bad happening to him makes him feel… some kind of way.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It takes a normal amount of time to get there. Standing outside the quiet house is somehow eerie, because every other time he’s been here, the house has been anything but quiet. He knocks; when that’s fruitless, it’s back to the phone.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 3:17pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>Hey I’m outside</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>Wanna let me in</b>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s expecting something along the lines of </span>
  <em>
    <span>not really </span>
  </em>
  <span>or </span>
  <em>
    <span>make me, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but there’s no response at all. Maybe Hinata slept through his phone alerts? But the thought that Hinata is just ignoring him seems more likely.</span>
</p><p>
  <b>[Up(set)] 3:19pm</b>
  <b><br/>
</b>
  <b>Are you really ignoring me because I brought your homework</b>
</p><p>
  <span>He doesn’t know what he’s expecting this time, but the results are the same as before. A small investigation leads to the discovery of a spare key under the flower pot, and he wastes no time getting the door open. Hinata’s mom is out on business and she took Natsu with her; as far as he knows, Hinata is home alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m coming in,” he announces, abandoning his shoes at the genkan as he shuts and locks the door behind him. He settles the key with his shoes to return when he leaves. “Hinata?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Quiet should not define things directly related to Hinata, and this house is much too quiet. Kageyama lets his school bag slip from his shoulder onto the floor as he heads further inwards, poking into the living room. He doesn’t doubt Hinata is here, it’s just a matter of </span>
  <em>
    <span>where </span>
  </em>
  <span>here. His absence in the living room means he’s probably asleep upstairs, and if that’s the case, Kageyama doesn’t want to disturb him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’s just turning to leave when a gleaming shine catches the edge of his sight and pulls his gaze toward it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata lies crumpled on the floor, surrounded by broken glass.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama’s mind is a whirlwind, always moving, twisting, flexing and recoiling. Never before in his life have his thoughts completely escaped him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His thoughts completely escape him now.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hinata?” His voice tilts between disbelief and shock. Hinata doesn’t answer. The silence catches up with him, and Kageyama’s heart claps against his throat.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Broken glass barely a significant obstacle, Kageyama’s heels slam hardwood floor as he charges. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Hinata—”</span>
  </em>
  <span> He’s not shouting, yet, but nearly there, and as hysteric as if he’d just screamed. He drops to his knees and his hand claws at Hinata’s shoulder, shaking him. “Hinata, can you hear me? Can you hear me, Hinata? </span>
  <em>
    <span>Hinata?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>He shakes him harder, unable to breathe around the throbbing pulse in his throat. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Hinata.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Beneath his hand, Hinata stirs with a hoarse groan. Kageyama’s breath hitches.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Your eyes are really blue,” Hinata croaks.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama can’t decide which is stronger, the urge to smack him, smack himself, bash his head into the nearest wall, or laugh. For now a sigh pushes itself free, and he draws his next inhale shakily while Hinata blinks up at him, dazed.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Dumbass, </span>
  </em>
  <span>you scared me,” Kageyama hisses, unsure if it’s relief or rage to blame for his breathlessness. “What happened? Can you get up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Get…” Hinata swallows. “I—Yeah, yeah I can.” He sounds sure enough, but Kageyama keeps a hand at his elbow anyway as he pushes himself upright. Kageyama doesn’t release him even after he’s sitting; there’s nothing trustworthy about the disoriented haze in his eyes, and Kageyama isn’t risking anything when there’s glass everywhere.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>About that.</span>
</p><p><span>“What happened?”</span> <span>Kageyama asks again, and bits of common sense begin to return, one strand at a time. Hinata’s skin beneath his palm is hot and dry. Perspiration dots his cheeks and neck, and he’s still trying to get his breath back. “Did you hit your head? Are you hurt?”</span></p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think so.” His voice isn’t trustworthy, either, though not because he’s lying. He sounds (and looks) confused, maybe a little frightened. “I wanted water and got dizzy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There isn’t any water on the floor, just glass. “Did you pass out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata drops his gaze toward his hands. “... Probably?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re on the floor and your answer is </span>
  <em>
    <span>probably?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean—” Hinata presses a hand into his eye, teeth clenched. He breathes through them for a second. “I know I dropped the glass and then woke up on the floor, but I didn’t wanna go anywhere so I just… fell asleep again.”</span>
</p><p><span>Somehow that makes sense, and it’s less concerning than him being </span><em><span>unconscious</span></em><span> this whole time,</span> <span>but Kageyama wants to cuff him on the head all the same. One more look at the pallor of Hinata’s face and the flush of his cheeks, topped off with the glassy fog in his eyes, and he decides that isn’t the best course of action.</span></p><p>
  <span>Later.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, dumbass, you can’t stay here.” Kageyama grasps Hinata’s other forearm and tugs him upward. “You’re lucky nothing cut you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata gets unsteady legs beneath him, fingers clammy around Kageyama’s biceps. Kageyama steadies him, glancing back over his shoulder to try and better grasp their shattered glass situation. He could definitely retrace his steps through the clear patches of hardwood, but he already knows he can’t trust Hinata to weave through safely.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m gonna pick you up,” Kageyama says flatly. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Do not </span>
  </em>
  <span>flail, because I </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>drop you in the glass and you </span>
  <em>
    <span>will </span>
  </em>
  <span>have to go to the ER. Got it?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The threat actually rattles Kageyama more than it does Hinata, but Hinata goes along with it, nodding. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t flail.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama gathers Hinata to him, one arm in the crook of his knees and the other around his shoulders, and makes for the living room with careful footing and long strides. Hinata barely makes a sound, just tangles his sweaty fingers in the collar of Kageyama’s shirt, and Kageyama is still too frazzled and relieved to even consider teasing him for it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He deposits his charge on the couch and throws a blanket over him. Hinata curls onto his side.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait here,” Kageyama says needlessly. Hinata murmurs some kind of response, and Kageyama leaves for supplies.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Hinata residence isn’t one he’s that familiar with, but it’s small enough for him to find his way around. Once the bathroom is located, his job is easy: he collects a thermometer, cold plasters, acetaminophen and, when he recalls, a plastic cup of tap water. All of this is taken to and left on the end table by the couch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hinata.” Kageyama boots up the thermometer with one hand and shakes him with the other. Hinata just blinks at him, miffed, unperturbed, and entirely out of it. “You can sleep soon, I wanna take your temperature.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata squints. “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because you fainted and I’m worried.” He presses the thermometer into Hinata’s hand and curls his fingers around it. “Just do it, alright? I need to clean up the glass before we forget it’s there.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata’s fingers clamp down on the thermometer, weaker than Kageyama hoped, but he sticks it under his tongue and Kageyama is satisfied enough to leave. The kitchen is small, and with not much ground to cover, he’s able to sweep quickly. He’s just gotten everything into a pile when the thermometer beeps, and he swipes the pile into a dustpan before returning to the living room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What’s it say?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata blinks at the screen tiredly. Kageyama snatches it from him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>39.1</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jeez, no wonder you’re so out of it.” Kageyama sighs, clicking it off and tossing it onto the end table. “Why haven’t you called anyone?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata looks at him scrutinizingly, without heat. “Who would I have called?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your mom, maybe?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I did.” Hinata sinks into the arm of the couch, hiking the blanket further up his shoulders. “She said to drink water and sleep and that she’ll be home tonight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hm.” Kageyama nudges his shoulder, Hinata scoots over, and Kageyama settles in next to him with his back against the arm of the couch. Hinata wastes no time tucking into his side. Even though it seems pointless now, Kageyama asks, “Should I stay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dunno,” Hinata murmurs thickly. “Would I owe you one?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You already owe me one for bringing your homework all the way out here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I </span>
  <em>
    <span>told you </span>
  </em>
  <span>I didn’t want it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Too bad.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Jerk.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The insult’s continuity can’t prevail through the cracks in his voice, and Kageyama just rolls his eyes as his hand finds Hinata's forearm and squeezes. “I don’t like how high your fever is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata makes a noise like someone stepped on a squeaker toy, but if the squeaker toy ran on batteries and had been doused in water and left in a corner for three years. “M’fine.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, of course.” Kageyama leans his cheek into the top of his head. “That’s why you fainted, huh?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can </span>
  <em>
    <span>easily </span>
  </em>
  <span>push you off the couch.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can sure try.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata doesn’t. Reaching behind him for the end table, Kageyama manages to get one of the cold plasters open and stuck to Hinata’s forehead. Hinata grimaces, but presses in closer instead of pulling away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That should help some,” Kageyama says, “but I’ll be checking with the thermometer every now and then just to make sure.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata buries his face in Kageyama’s side and muffles, “Yayyyyy.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dumbass, just be happy I’m still here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Internally, Kageyama splutters. Externally, he sighs. “Just. Get some sleep, stupid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is stupid an upgrade or a downgrade from dumbass?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Neither. Go to sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata doesn’t have anything else to add, and curls into Kageyama’s side like they’ve known each other all their life. Kageyama waits until his breathing evens out some before relaxing and draping an arm over him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kageyama?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Last thing before you sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are we?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’d ask for clarity if it wasn’t a question he’d been asking himself too. Kageyama tangles his fingers in Hinata’s sweaty hair. “Dunno.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata hums, coughs into a fistful of the blanket and lets out a tired, congested sigh. “Sh-Should we know?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean.” Kageyama crosses one leg over the other and sinks into Hinata’s warmth. “I don’t think it matters? It’s not like it's affecting us negatively.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, but…” Hinata trails off, false-starts a few times, then says, “I just wish I had a word for it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Kageyama dislodges some of the tangles in Hinata’s hair, teetering through his thoughts. “I don't know. ‘Teammates’ is the obvious one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And rivals,” Hinata adds. “That’s another obvious one.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Friends?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He’ll never get used to hearing that and damn it all if his throat doesn’t tighten every time. “Close friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Best </span>
  </em>
  <span>friends?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama's brain splutters again. “... Yeah? But that’s still kind of…” He’s bad at expressing himself even now, but struggles forward until he lands on something. “I don’t know, ‘best friends’ just doesn’t—It doesn’t feel like—Like…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Like enough?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama nods. “Yeah, something like that. But I don’t want to be romantically involved with you, either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d say ‘ouch,’ but no, I feel the same way.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama twirls one of Hinata's unruly locks around his finger. “So.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So we don’t know.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No.” Hinata drums his fingers on the back of Kageyama’s hand. “What if we asked Sugawara and Daichi? They seem pretty close.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘Pretty close’ can mean literally anything, dumbass.” It hits him now when he should have felt it before, because it's always </span>
  <em>
    <span>been there </span>
  </em>
  <span>in some way, but when exactly did 'dumbass' become a term of endearment? When and more importantly </span>
  <em>
    <span>how?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“They're older than us, though, so maybe they know more about stuff like this than we do,” Hinata goes on. “I… just want something to call it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama frowns at him. “Do we need something?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I... I guess not? But I wish we did.” Hinata has stopped drumming, now tracing meaningless patterns into Kageyama's forearm with a finger. “It’d be nice to have something to call it, I guess. It’d make more sense in my head. Kind of like figuring out a math problem.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This isn’t a problem, though.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know </span>
  <em>
    <span>that, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but.” Hinata's finger goes from drawing to tapping, before he buries his face in Kageyama's side and groans. “I’m tired.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.” Kageyama squeezes his forearm. “All that thinking wore you out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kageyama I </span>
  <em>
    <span>swear </span>
  </em>
  <span>I’ll—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You'll push me off the couch, I know.” Kageyama rolls his eyes again, but can't say there isn't endearment there, somehow. Somehow there's always endearment with Hinata. A short coughing spasm rattles Hinata's frame and Kageyama's heart constricts in a weird way, hand running up and down his side subconsciously. “Sorry.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata just shakes his head. "I'll push you off the couch later," he says, leaning into Kageyama's side again, more on top of him than beside him. The couch isn't nearly wide enough to comfortably accommodate them both, but even that doesn't matter now. “Sorry. I know you don't know how to handle this stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re right, I don't,” Kageyama says; denying it is pointless, Hinata knows him too well. “But I'm... willing to try.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aww. I don't even wanna mock that, that was sweet.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama clicks his tongue. “You really </span>
  <em>
    <span>don't </span>
  </em>
  <span>feel like yourself, do you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I'm allowed to tell my partner he's sweet, aren't I?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama short circuits. “Your what.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” Hinata blinks out into space, then up at him. There's more clarity in his gaze now than all day. “Is—That okay? I kinda said it without thinking.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The word bounces around Kageyama's head for a while. It's not entirely foreign, they've been called partners a number of times as spiker and setter, but that's just it: volleyball. It's never been used between the two of them personally, let alone </span>
  <em>
    <span>domestically. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It disarms him like nothing has disarmed him before.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But that's just it, too. Because it's the first word of many that's ever felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>right.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think I like it,” Kageyama says finally. “No—I do like it. I want to keep it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata </span>
  <em>
    <span>snorts, </span>
  </em>
  <span>coughs, and hacks out, “Like a dog?” even as Kageyama scrambles to help him up and whacks him between the shoulder blades with more force (and panic) than called for. But Hinata can't seem to stop laughing, either, which of course makes it worse, and it's not until Kageyama forces the cup of water onto him that he finally takes a breath that doesn't end in more relentless hacking.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, I'm done.” Hinata throws up a peace sign and dips into Kageyama's side again, curling close. “Goodnight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama waits until his heart slows down before he responds, wrapping both arms around Hinata and pulling him close. “Goodnight, dumbass.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do love you, Kageyama.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something breaks. Kageyama buries his face in Hinata's hair.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... Kageyama? Did—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I heard you. I do, too. Get some sleep.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata leans into his chest and Kageyama doesn't let him go.</span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>There's a hand on his head, gently carding through his hair. Kageyama wakes slowly at first, but his consciousness rushes to meet him like a long-lost friend, and he snaps awake with a start.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, sorry, Tobio, it's just me.” Eyes still adjusting to the darkness, Kageyama makes out Ms. Hinata's tired smile. Natsu is asleep at her hip. “I'm sorry to wake you, I was just checking on Shouyou.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The situation catches up with him. “Sorry—” Kageyama would've leapt to his feet if not for Hinata's sleep-heavy weight against him. He can still feel the heat of Hinata's fever and doesn't want to disturb him now that he's finally comfortable. “I didn't mean to overstay my welcome—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You're always welcome here, Tobio.” Her smile reminds him of something that hurts, and she touches his cheek gently with the back of her hand. He can't remember the last time someone smiled at him like that or touched him like that. “Thank you for looking after Shouyou. You can sleep here tonight, it's late and I don't want you hiking down the mountain in the dark.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shakes off his shock and nods, the movement stiff and stale. “Right. I—Thank you. This won't happen again—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's alright.” She kisses Hinata's head first, then his, before straightening up and readjusting Natsu against her side. “I'll let you two sleep. Don’t be afraid to give me a shout if you need anything, alright?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I won’t. Thank you,” Kageyama says again. She shakes her head, smiles, and leaves the room with Natsu. Kageyama watches her go, gaze lingering on the door as it slips shut behind her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oo, she likes you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama starts hard and accidentally elbows Hinata in the stomach. Hinata yipes.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Dumbass, what was that for?” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Kageyama hisses, voice cracking. “I thought you were </span>
  <em>
    <span>asleep.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“JERK,” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hinata wheezes in a whisper, clutching his stomach. “Why would you </span>
  <em>
    <span>do </span>
  </em>
  <span>that what is </span>
  <em>
    <span>wrong </span>
  </em>
  <span>with you—”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It's not like I </span>
  <em>
    <span>meant </span>
  </em>
  <span>to,” Kageyama whispers-shouts back, but then the harshness ebbs into concern and he feels bad. “Sorry, are—you okay?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Ugh.”</span>
  </em>
  <span> Hinata jabs him in the ribs (with... absolutely no force behind it at all, uh) and collapses back into the arm of the couch. “Yikes, that didn't feel great.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama's heart throbs. “Like—”</span>
</p><p><span>“No, I'm just dizzy, it's not you,” Hinata pants, draping an arm over his eyes. “Stuff's just. Spinning. Why is it still spinning if I'm laying down?</span> <span>I'm </span><em><span>laying down.”</span></em></p><p>
  <span>“Because you're sick.” Kageyama slides his arm beneath his shoulders to bring him in close again, and Hinata grumbles about it under his breath but leans into him anyway. “Sorry. I really didn't mean to.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Hinata murmurs. “I should probably go to bed, anyway, it’s better than the couch.” A beat. “But I don't want to move.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We could just sleep here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” The lack of rebuttal concerns him, but taking everything into account, it makes sense. He's never seen Hinata sick before, let alone this sick. “Thanks for being here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for letting me be here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, I thanked you first.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You didn't have to,” Kageyama says. “I'm... happy. Like this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata shifts around, snuggling closer into his chest until Kageyama can feel his breath and hear his heartbeat. “I'm also happy like this, then. I'll be happier when I'm not sick anymore, but I'm happy right now too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama tucks Hinata's head under his chin. “Cool.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Hinata huffs. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Cool?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“What else do you want from me?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you really are happy, nothing."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kageyama draws him in closer. Whatever they have, whether there's a word for it or not, he's glad that they have it, and his heart is so, so warm. “Sleep well.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You too.”</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I love kagehina in all its forms but qp kagehina will always have an extra special place in my heart. thank you all so much for reading!! you can find me on tumblr <a href="https://pocket-full-of-wonder.tumblr.com/">here</a> if you want to give prompts or suggestions for future qp kghn fics, or if you'd just like to drop in and say hi! I hope you're all doing well and I wish you all the absolute very best in this time of stress, fear and uncertainty. Stay safe, socially distance, give yourself a big hug, listen to your favorite song, watch your favorite movie, take care of yourself as best you can. love you all! until next time &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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